Iara Lee's "The Suffering Grasses" beautifully captures Syrians explaining their struggle in their own words, giving a place of privilege to those nonviolent activists whose voices have long been buried beneath the rubble.

We are like the British at the end of World War II: desperately trying to shore up an empire that we never needed and can no longer afford, using methods that often resemble those of failed empires of the past.

The vast majority of Egyptians killed since the coup have been unarmed protesters struck down with American-made weapons by soldiers transported in American-made vehicles provided by the American taxpayer.